The People’s Party finally decided to fill the four seats corresponding to the Senate in the new RTVE council. The decision was made by the leaders of Alberto Nuñez Feijóo this Wednesday at the Genoa headquarters, despite the fact that official sources refuse to confirm it.
Everything indicates that the Popular Party chose to take this measure, even though it was considering leaving the seats vacant, after studying a legal report commissioned by the leadership of the PP, which wanted to know the consequences that this would entail. “Do not participate in the game of Pedro Sánchez, who only wants to colonize institutions”.
Ultimately, the wording of the royal decree approved by the Government on October 22 to take control of public radio and television, not only change the necessary majorities for the election of councilors, the number of places and his distribution between Congress and the Senate.
Also protected the operation so that, in any case, the PSOE and its partners are leading the “assault against RTVE”, regardless of the fact that the Senate has left the corresponding seats vacant.
The PP hoped to find a way to block the maneuver of the Government, to prevent the takeover of the control body of public radio and television, leaving aside the 11 councilors who, this Thursday, will be confirmed by the Congress of Deputies by absolute majority.
A first interpretation of the legal text gave rise to “hope” in Genoa that if the Senate failed to complete the process, Sánchez would be forced to appoint a single administrator.
So it would have been even more visible than just the thing that the sanchism He manages the public media as he wishes, according to the PP. But the conclusion of the report was that they would gain nothing and, on the contrary, until socialist Concepción Cascajosa would remain on the council.
“Autocratic disease”
As this newspaper learned, this Thursday before 10 a.m., the deadline set by the decree itself, the most popular ones will save a list with four namesselected in Genoa.
The ratification procedure will be the same as in Congress. The candidates will be heard by the nominations committee, they will undergo a first vote, which will require two-thirds of the Upper House (i.e. 178 senators); and after 48 hours, another plenary session can take place in which the absolute majority is sufficient (or what amounts to the same thing, 134 senators).
In the current composition of the Senate, the PP has 145 seats. And this allows them to appoint the four councilors without negotiating with other groups.
“The PSOE reserved five seats as part of its agreement with Sumar, ERC, Junts, PNV and Podemos in Congress… so They were going to have more than us anyway“explains another PP source. “We have an absolute majority in one Chamber and we are the majority group in the other, but Sánchez was able to invent a method that makes separatists and radicals happy, and also benefits them“.
The decision taken by the people of Feijóo will not allow them to make real decisions within RTVE.
The new decree gives the municipality very high contractual power, controlled by the PSOE and its partners. And even more for the one who occupies the presidency, which can personally decide on contracts with any production company as long as they amount to less than two million euros per year. “A very high threshold… they will do what Sánchez’s propaganda machine dictates,” concludes this source.
The four advisors of detachment The simple troops will be popular, but they will have information on the functioning of RTVE. “Without occupying these seats, the PP would be blindand the cure would be worse than Sánchez’s autocratic disease”, humorously underlines a consulted source.
Corresponding dates
The fact that the PP left its decision until the last day of the deadline will mean that the presentation of its four candidates coincides with the day when the plenary session of the Congress confirms the appointment of the 11 “Sanchista” members of the council.as the PP describes it.
The vote will be secret and all the deputies of the groups already mentioned have been responsible for that there are no errors or leakstaking into account the tightness of the result.
The first attempt took place last Tuesday. In this one, obviously, The necessary 233 votes were not reached respect the two-thirds rule, taking into account the opposition of PP and Vox.
But the reform validated during an extraordinary plenary session which Francine Armengol maintained in the aftermath of the DANA disaster, despite the suspension of all other parliamentary activities, will allow the process to reach the Lower House.
However, this minimum bar was not even reached last Tuesday, given that the two Compromise deputiesin the ranks of Sumar, wanted to demonstrate their opposition to the takeover of RTVE – while criticizing similar actions of the Valencian government of Carlos Mazon– and above all his disagreement with the chosen moment, amid the DANA tragedy.
However, its spokesperson, Agueda Micopromised to facilitate the vote this Thursday to respond to the wishes of Moncloa.
The PSOE does not want to depend on its former minister Jose Luis Abalosexpelled to the Mixed Group after the triggering of the Koldo affair already one step away from being charged before the Supreme Court. Ábalos did not want to participate in Tuesday’s vote and your vote could be decisive.
The PP and Vox did not vote either and are expected to opt for the same this Thursday. The most popular want to make it clear that “We cannot whitewash an operation contrary to democracy and European law”. And given that in the Senate they will begin the nomination process their advisors, the gesture in Congress is almost obligatory for them.
All politicized
Not only for the principles, but also for the politicized profile of the 11 candidates promoted by the PSOE and its allies.
The PSOE elected Esther de la MataDirector of Communications for the Minister Felix Bolanos; Angelique Rubiowho worked in Moncloa with the president José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and now director of elplural.com; the journalist and writer Mercedes de Pabloswho was part of the socialist lists in Seville and directed Canal Sur when the PSOE governed; and singer-songwriter Pink Lionwho was formerly a PSOE advisor to Madrid City Hall.
His fifth name is former content director of RTVE Jose Pablo Lopezdismissed in March by the previous interim president Elena Sanchez amid the controversial signing of David Broncanoand who is the one chosen to occupy the presidency of the Corporation.
Podemos candidate is music announcer Mariano Muniesawho was in the candidacy of Pablo Iglesias in the 2021 elections in the Community of Madrid, and is a specialist in the world of heavy metal and rock in general.
From Sumar they promoted the journalist Maria Therese Martinwho was a member of the RTVE Intercenter Committee for CCOO, and former deputy of En Comú Marthe Ribaswho excluded the historic TVE journalist from the list at the last minute River pigeoneliminated because it was frowned upon by the group trans.
For his part, Junts presented Miquel Calçada ‘Mikimoto’an activist process and presenter of TV3 who appeared on the lists of Pel set Yes and proposed as senator. The ERC’s bet is Sergi Solformer chief of staff of Oriol Junqueras for 1-O. And the PNV chose the former Minister of Education of the Government of Navarre and former representative of Geroa Bai Maria Roncesvalles.
